22/03/2023 - Research, Success Stories

The Clinical and Environmental Infectious Diseases Research Group signs a collaboration for the development of a new biocide for the treatment of drinking water

The Clinical and Environmental Infectious Diseases Research Group (CEID) has discovered a molecule of natural origin with a high bactericidal, amoebicidal and biofilm reduction capacity. The collaboration signed by the group's researchers with a private company will finance the improvement of the molecule's characteristics to be applied in large water installations, preventing water for human consumption from acting as a vehicle for the transmission of bacterial diseases.

14/03/2023 - Research

Breaking barriers in hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment for populations at risk

A study with people who inject drugs evaluated a minimally invasive test based on dried blood spots (DBS) for the monitoring of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The use of DBS samples for HCV RNA detection and genotyping was shown to effectively assess cure after treatment and to differentiate between reinfection and treatment failure. The results support the viability of decentralizing treatment and post-treatment monitoring for people who inject drugs, who frequently face challenges accessing the healthcare system. The study has been published in the Journal of Medical Virology.

09/03/2023 - Research

New method for detecting nanoplastics in blood

A study uses for the first time flow cytometry to detect and measure nanoplastics in peripheral human blood. People with various medical conditions have been included in the study so as to investigate potential differences for nanoplastic accumulation across the population. In addition, mice have been used in a highly controlled environment to compare their nanoplastic levels to that of humans. This study, which has been published at the journal MethodsX.

08/03/2023 - Institutional, Research

Women’s Day: giving our women scientists a voice

To commemorate International Women's Day, we asked four questions to different profiles of IGTP researchers to find out about the difficulties they have encountered as women scientists and how they see the future: Dr Carolina Armengol, leader of the consolidated Childhood Liver Oncology Research Group (c-LOG), Dr Raquel Guillamat, junior leader of the emerging group Translational Research in Pulmonary Immunity, and PhD student Daina Martínez from the ICREC laboratory of Cardiology Research.

03/03/2023 - Research

Studying partial remission of type 1 diabetes in children: New biomarkers and the immunoregulatory role of microRNA

A study led by researchers from IGTP's Immunology of Diabetes group has identified new microRNA as biomarkers for the partial remission phase, also known as "honeymoon phase", of type 1 diabetes, and has linked the miR-30d-5p microRNA to immunoregulatory processes that may take place during this phase.

23/02/2023 - Campus Can Ruti, Research

Germans Trias discovers a biomarker to predict whether tuberculosis infection will lead to active disease

The discovery, published in the journal Pathogens, paves the way for accelerating the design of efficient vaccines and treatments against the disease.

21/02/2023 - Research

Innovative technique to improve characterisation of ventricular tachycardia substrate

A study published in JACC: Clinical electrophysiology evaluates local impedance-based mapping as a tool to identify critical components of ventricular tachycardia after myocardial infarction. It highlights its potential to improve the characterisation of ventricular tachycardia tissues and circuits. The scientists conclude that the technique is feasible and could improve the results of cardiac ablation. The work, which was performed in an animal model, involved researchers from the Heart Failure and Heart Regeneration Research Group (ICREC) at the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), the Heart Institute of the Germans Trias Hospital (iCor), the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and Boston Scientific.

15/02/2023 - Projects, Research

Funding of €1.2M from the Spanish Association Against Cancer for a research project on childhood liver cancer coordinated by IGTP

Encouraging news in the framework of the International Day Against Childhood Cancer. The Spanish Association Against Cancer, through its Aid Programmes, has granted 1.2 million euros to the coordinated project "Personalised Medicine for Childhood Liver Cancer". The five-year project will be coordinated by the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), under the leadership of Dr Carolina Armengol, with the participation of another four Spanish research groups. All participating groups are members of the CIBER of Hepatic and Digestive Diseases (CIBEREHD).

14/02/2023 - Innovation, Projects, Research

State funding of €1.8M to develop an advanced gene therapy for Friedreich's ataxia

The Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) and the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCII) will fund the project with 1.8 million euros within the R&D&I call linked to Personalised Medicine and Advanced Therapies in the framework of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation for Vanguard Health (PERTE for Vanguard Health) in gene therapy for Friedreich's ataxia.

06/02/2023 - Projects, Research

GCAT-IGTP and ISGlobal launch third year of COVICAT-CONTENT study

The COVICAT-CONTENT 2023 study begins today, with the aim of monitoring COVID-19 in different cohorts in Catalonia and the rest of Spain. Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and the GCAT'Genomes for Life project of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) evaluate the genetic and epidemiological determinants associated with the disease, as well as the long-term effects of the pandemic on people's physical and mental health and the evolution of the immune response. In this way, the objective is to help define predictive models and control policies for similar situations in the future.